The Giants have picked punter Matt Dodge with the 221st overall pick (7th round) of the NFL Draft.  His only weakness is that he needs to get his punts off quicker.  He has a big leg and he booms his punts.  In 53 games in college (Appalachian State & East Carolina), Dodge has punted the ball 261 times for 11,209 yards (42.9 avg).  He has placed 73 punts inside the opposing 20-yard line (28%) which is pretty darn impressive and he has had 1 punt blocked.  Dodge will likely head into training camp as the starting punter due to Jeff Feagles’ retirement.

The Giants have picked OLB Adrian Tracy with the 184th overall pick (6th round) of the NFL Draft.  Tracy is 6′4″, 243 pounds and he runs a 4.8 40.  His main skill is getting after the passer.  He played in 14 games for William & Mary last season in which he had 78 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 12 sacks, he broke up 4 passes and he forced 1 fumble.  In his four years at William & Mary, Tracy played in 47 games in which he had 283 tackles, 62.5 tackles for a loss, 31 sacks, he broke up 8 passes, he forced 4 fumbles and he had 1 interception.  It will be interesting to see if Tracy can handle the gigantic leap in competition that he will to deal with this season.  His best chance of making the team will be on special teams.

UPDATE:  (8/31/2010) - The Giants have placed Adrian Tracy on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a dislocated right elbow.

The Giants have picked OG Mitch Petrus out of Arkansas with the 147th overall pick (5th round) of the NFL Draft.  Petrus is a tall guy at 6′3″, 304 pounds but it doesn’t look like his frame can take much more weight.  Petrus is a weight room warrior but he doesn’t convert that power to the field as he is a finesse blocker.  Because of that he will have to stay on the interior of the O-Line playing guard or center where he can get some help.  Petrus played in 13 games (all starts) at Arkansas last season and he played in 49 games (25 starts) in his four years there.  Petrus was a solid pick where the Giants got him as he could develop into a starter down the line.

The Giants have picked inside linebacker Phillip Dillard with the 115th overall pick in the NFL Draft (4th round).  He is 6′0″, 240 pounds and he runs a 4.75 40.  He needs protected by the D-Line and if he is he will be a very productive player for the Giants.  That’s because he runs into some issues when the guards and tackles get into his body on blocks.  Dillard played in 12 games (9 starts) for Nebraska last season and he finished up with 83 tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, he broke up 3 passes and he had 1 interception.  He played in 44 games (16 starts) in his four years at Nebraska and he had 169 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, he had 4.5 sacks, broke up 6 passes and he had 1 interception.  Dillard has the potential to be a starter soon for the Giants and he was a solid pick for a team that is rebuilding on D.

The Giants have selected safety Chad Jones out of LSU with the 76th overall pick (3rd round) of the NFL Draft.  He is a athletic marvel at 6′3″, 220 pounds and he runs a 4.4 40.  Coach Coughlin and the rest of the Giants’ coaches will have to help Jones get more aggressive against the running game as he is a tad soft against it.  But, he is a good center fielder of a defense and he will likely develop into a starter down the road.  For this season though Jones will likely learn from veterans Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant while helping the Giants a lot on special teams.  Jones played in 12 games (all starts) for the Tigers last season and he had 66 tackles, broke up 5 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  He played in 39 games (18 starts) in his three years at LSU and he finished up there with 150 tackles, he broke up 15 passes, had 5 interceptions and he forced 3 fumbles.  Jones was a good pick for the Giants in the third round because he has a nice upside.

UPDATE:  (6/27/2010) - Chad Jones has been seriously injured in a car crash.  He fractured his tibia and fibula in the car wreck.  He will likely miss all of his rookie season and he has been talking about playing baseball instead of football as it would cause less stress on his legs.  This is a huge loss for the Giants who were going to let Jones compete for a starting job as a rookie.